MGM Deuces Night wins bareback horse of year

MGM Deuces Night, the 2012 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Bareback Horse of the Year, is one bronc cowboys want to take on.

“She rides friendly and gives a cowboy a great spur ride,” said Pete Carr, who owns MGM Deuces Night.

“The cowboys like her and the judges like her and that makes a great combination.”

Carr, who is from Dallas and boards his rodeo livestock at an East Texas ranch near Athens, said cowboys like to draw MGM Deuces Night because they can rhythmically spur the bronc, which helps them earn lofty scores in the high 80s or low 90s. However, the 7-year-old mare always offers cowboys a huge challenge.

“She’s also a horse that you can’t stub your toe on,” Carr said. “But she has lots of timing for cowboys and hangs in the air.”

MGM Deuces’ Night is on the card at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, scheduled for Dec. 6-15 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The bronc will make her third consecutive NFR appearance.

During the 2011 NFR, world champion Kaycee Feild won the 10th round after turning in a score of 87 aboard MGM Deuces Night. Three months later, when the $50,000 title was at stake at RodeoHouston, Feild clinched the title by winning the final round with a score of 93 aboard the mare.

“She just does what a horse is supposed to do,” Carr said. “If there were more horses like her, we’d have 500 bareback riders competing.”

Carr will haul eight bareback broncs to the NFR, an impressive number. One of them is a gelding named Dirty Jacket, which finished third in the 2012 Bareback Horse of the Year title race.

“He just bucks every time,” Carr said of Dirty Jacket. “He’s very strong out of the chute. He’s just good.”

■ Cutting horse update: The National Cutting Horse Association Futurity began Sunday and runs through Dec. 15 at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth. The Dec. 15 open division finals is the first jewel in the sport’s Triple Crown Series for the 2012-13 season.

The World Finals will be held in conjunction with the Futurity. The open and non-pro performances are scheduled for Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 at the W.R. Watt Arena.

■ PBR update: The Professional Bull Riders will conduct its 20th season in 2013 and the first stop on the Built Ford Tough Series is Jan. 4-6 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The tour also stops at Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium on March 3. For more information visit www.pbr.com.

Brett Hoffman, a Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame member, has written a rodeo column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram during the past 25 years. Email him at brett@myrodeoinsider.com.